Caregiver of elderly Muskegon woman sentenced to jail for stealing

MUSKEGON COUNTY — A 55-year-old Ravenna woman was sentenced to a year in jail and three years probation Monday for uttering and publishing, embezzling from a vulnerable adult and illegal use of a financial transaction device.

Cindy RitzCindy Ritz pleaded no contest to all three charges on Feb. 26.

Ritz had been accused of stealing at least $20,000 from Eleanor Carlson, the 91-year-old woman for whom she worked for more than a year and a half as a caregiver. She had been hired by Carlson’s children.

“I will say one thing about Cindy: She was very reliable,” said Barbara Neal-Ward, Carlson’s daughter.

However, Carlson’s family eventually became aware that Ritz was using their mother’s credit card when, while Carlson was in a nursing home for three months, her credit card activity increased.

The family then found out that Ritz had been pocketing rent money from properties Carlson had owned, family members said. She had also taken the security deposits, which Carlson then had to repay herself, they said.

Ritz had also forged signatures on Social Security and other checks belonging to Carlson and stole money from her checking account, according to family members.

Muskegon County 14th Circuit Judge James M. Graves Jr. said that such cases are frustrating, because while Carlson’s family asked that Ritz be given prison time, she wouldn’t be able to pay restitution if she got it.

She received the same sentence of one year in jail and three years probation for each charge. The sentences, Graves said, are to be served concurrently.

After the judge read the sentence, a few of the people that came to support Ritz were visibly upset. They declined to comment when approached by a reporter.

Charles Carlson, Eleanor’s son, was also unhappy, saying Ritz should have been sent to prison. “We just want to keep her away from other elderly people,” he said.

Neal-Ward also was disappointed. “She’s imprisoned all of us for longer than that,” she said.

Carlson’s daughter had advice for anyone who has a caretaker looking after a vulnerable family member.